Relieved Seagulls scavenge a win from the Blues

Brent Diamond

WILLIAMSTOWN was somewhat relieved to notch its first victory of the season by 14 points against the Northern Blues at Visy Park yesterday.

Last year's grand finalist has had a huge turnover of players, both from its own VFL-listed team and its AFL affiliate, Western Bulldogs, over the pre-season.

It has some second-guessing whether the Seagulls can be as good as their 2011 season, which included the inaugural Foxtel Cup.

The Seagulls trailed by 23 points at the last change before piling on six unanswered goals in the final term to win, 12.12 (84) to 9.16 (70).

"[It's good] just for everyone at the club, I think," Seagulls coach Peter German said.

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"We were disappointed last week [losing to Casey Scorpions] but we've had a big turnover of players … it means that we have to reshape our synergy and predictability, but we also know that on any given week, there could be up to eight changes, so we just deal with what we've got."

Young Bulldog Ayce Cordy was brilliant early, snaring four first-half goals. He appears ready to take the next step in his career according to German. "Ayce has had a good pre-season and we know what he's capable of," he said.

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Nathan Djerrkura was best on ground for the Seagulls, while Jamie McNamara and Ben Jolley were just as prolific.

Northern Blues coach Robert Hyde said his team simply ran out of legs and he was "sick of making excuses".

"We just didn't use the ball smartly," he said. "We made a few decisions to go to the wrong spots on the ground and got a bit cute, and we just needed to be a bit more clever and settle it down a bit."

Brock McLean was again outstanding for the Blues, but has struggled to get a look in on the senior team over the past year. Hyde was an unabashed fan after coaching him as a junior and believes he still has a place at Carlton.

"I coached Brock McLean in the under-18s and what you get with Brock is 100 per cent effort, so I hope when he gets the opportunity that he plays really well and he's able to stay up in the Carlton senior team for a good span of time," he said.

"He was in the final training squad for the first match and just talking to him, this is the first time that he hasn't had operations over the summer for the last three or four years. He reckons his body's really good and he's just looking forward to having a crack at it."

Aaron Joseph also showed promising form with 20 touches. Kane Lambert was perhaps the most influential Blues player, while Adam Marcon, named in the VFL Academy announced yesterday, showed plenty of resilience.

Two late goals from Cathal Corr got the Pies back into it, but it was too late after what was an early Cats dominance. The Cats won, 14.11 (95) to 11.17 (83).

Chris Tarrant was moved forward in the second half and sparked a revival. "It was different for 'Taz'. It gives us more of a different look and we certainly looked a bit more energised,'' Collingwood's VFL coach Tarkyn Lockyer said. ''And I think the other guys fed off that a little bit.

Lockyer said the Cats simply "wanted it more".

Port Melbourne won its 23rd straight match by thrashing the Werribee Tigers by 59 points at North Port Oval. Adrian Bonaddio steered the reigning premier to victory with five goals as the Borough bolted to a 10-goal lead at the main break.

The Casey Scorpions scraped home in their second consecutive thriller by six points over the Coburg Tigers at Coburg City Oval.

Tom Couch, Jamie Bennell and Cale Morton were among the best for the Scorpions.